Former Muskoka Scout honoured for brave rescue

WELL DONE

A former Gravenhurst Scout has received a medal for his level-headedness and bravery after he and his family fell through thin ice in March.

Jesse Belaire, 13, was formally awarded the Bronze Cross for gallantry at the Trinity United Church in Huntsville on Sunday, Nov. 25. On March 11, Belaire was taking part in an ice fishing derby in Sault Ste. Marie with his parents and family friends when the ice suddenly broke, submerging the group along with an ATV and a snowmobile.

Belaire managed to get himself out and then pulled a two-year-old child from the bone-chilling water before running to a nearby resident’s house to summon help.

“I was trying to get to shore and get some boards so we’d get more surface area on the ice,” he said.

Belaire credited his nine years of training in Scouts Canada with having prepared him for such an emergency.

“They taught me what to do,” he said. “To get a board and something to put more surface area on the ice so it wouldn’t crack anymore.”

After Belaire got back to shore, an area resident and a police officer were alerted and arrived to help in a canoe. Other rescuers quickly arrived to join in the efforts, which resulted in everyone being returned safely to shore.

His father, Del, remembers clearly how his son took charge of the situation that day.

“He was just so calm and focused on what he was doing, he didn’t panic or anything,” he said.

A soft-spoken boy, Belaire has since outgrown the age limit for Scouts, and has now moved on to other adventures with the Muskoka Pioneers cadet corps in Bracebridge.

“He was incredibly brave and he remained calm; certainly, it’s possible we wouldn’t be here without him,” said Del.

Mary Jane Reid of the First Gravenhurst Scouts said the Bronze Cross is one of the highest awards that a youth can get with Scouts Canada.

“He’s a very good kid; he’s done a lot for Scouting and a lot in Scouting,” she said of Belaire. “I guess his training paid off.”